Thirty-one members of the Protective Service receive keys to HDC homes

Caption: Minister of Housing and Urban Development, the Honourable Randall Mitchell (5th from left) and Minister of National Security, Major General (ret'd) the Honourable Edmund Dillon (4th from left) with members of the Joint Protective Service Housing Committee. (Photo courtesy the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development)

May 19, 2017: On Wednesday May 17, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Randall Mitchell and his Cabinet colleague, National Security Minister, Edmund Dillon presented keys to thirty-one members of the protective services who met the requirements for Government-subsidised housing in fulfillment of the government policy of 10% allocation to that group . This presentation took place at the Port of Spain office of the Housing Development Corporation.

In his remarks to the new home owners and to members of the Joint Protective Services, Minister Mitchell indicated that “in 2007, the then government recognised the importance of the protective services to the national community and the need to ensure secure, safe and proper accommodation for those service members in need of housing. As a consequence, government approved the allocation of 10% of all Government-subsidised housing to members of the Protective Services.”

In 2008, the Ministries of Housing and National Security developed a mechanism for the fair, transparent and inclusive allocation of housing to members of the protective services which gave birth to the Joint Protective Services Housing Committee. This Committee operated until 2010 until it was disbanded by the incoming government.

Minister Mitchell stated that fairness, transparency, equity and inclusion are important now as it was back then and thus, earlier this year, the Joint Protective Services Committee was reconvened.

This key distribution represents the first installment of allocations of Government-subsidised housing to members of the protective services as coordinated through the Joint Protective Services Housing Committee which is chaired by the Minister of National Security or his designate and includes representatives of the protective services associations such as the Prison Officers Association, the Police Social and Welfare Association, Fire Service Association – Second Division, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Land Settlement Agency and the Housing Development Corporation.

The Ministry and the HDC by extension, hold the view that the presence of active service men in HDC housing communities will redound to the benefit of the community and the country because their very presence can lead to a quicker identification of and significant reduction in criminal activities in these communities.

Also present were members of the Joint Protective Service Housing Committee including ASP Anand Ramesar, Ceron Richards, Leo Ramkission and Lt (N) Richardson. Vel Lewis, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Security; Roosevelt Bruce, Chief Fire Officer; HDC Chairman, Newman George; HDC management team and family members of the new home owners also witnessed the presentation.